JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden criticized members of Israel's far-right cabinet for policies in the occupied West Bank, reaffirming its support for a two-state solution with Palestine.
"It's not all about Israel (in the West Bank), but they are part of the problem... especially the people in the cabinet who say... (Palestinian) have no right to be here," President Biden said in an interview with CNN broadcast Sunday, quoted from The National News July 10.
"I am one of those who believe, Israel's main security lies in a two-state solution," said President Biden.
However, he avoided the question of whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would accept an invitation to visit the White House, after Israel was involved in his biggest military operation in West Bank Jenin in decades, killing at least 12 people last week.
The comments are a rare show of Uncle Sam's country's cautious criticism of its old allies, which has become more frequent as President Biden's Administration works with Israel's far-right government under PM Netanyahu.
Israeli operations focused on the northern city of Jenin, the center of several Palestinian armed groups. It involved hundreds of troops, drone attacks and armored bulldozers. Apache combat helicopters were deployed in the West Bank for the first time since intifada about 23 years ago.
At the start of the two-day attack, a White House official told The National News Washington supported Israel's right to self-defense.
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President Biden said on Sunday, "Palestinian authorities have lost credibility... and created a vacuum for extremism among Palestinians, there are some very extreme elements."
He added that Washington was talking to Israel "orderedly" in a bid to "reduce" the escalation of violence in the West Bank.
"Hopefully (PM Netanyahu) will continue to move towards moderation and change behavior," he added.
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